I just got my D4 from Lee Valley. I put it together and followed the
instructions and got a pretty good joint on my first try.
I'm just starting out in WW and if I can learn to use it anybody can. I'm
slowly getting equipment for my shop. Now, if I can only afford to buy the
wood to make something.

Congratulations - I have been making sawdust for 25-30 years a lust for one
of these. One of these days I will grind away the last of my old Craftsman
templateand spring for one.

RonB

"Joe" wrote in message
I just got my D4 from Lee Valley. I put it together and followed the
instructions and got a pretty good joint on my first try.
I'm just starting out in WW and if I can learn to use it anybody can. I'm
slowly getting equipment for my shop. Now, if I can only afford to buy
the
wood to make something.

Words to the wise: I normally love mine, but I'm kinda ****ed at it right
now.

Did my usual painstaking set up, and numerous test cuts, then proceeded to
cut the half blind drawer ends on 30 drawers only to find out that I now
have to tweak the jig's fingers to get some of the drawer side tails to fit.
I've probably made a couple of hundred drawers with the damn thing and that
is the very first time that's ever happened.

Can't find anything that's moved on the jig, material was all batch cut and
the same dimension, and the router bit is still the same depth, so it's a
mystery to me what happened. Not impossible to recover from, but still a
PITA, and a loss in time, which is money to me.

Moral: even with a fine jig like the Leigh, which should be capable of a
'production type' run for each operation, watch out for Murphy. It is better
to switch operations occasionally and do a few of each as you go, making
sure the fit remains like the original setup.

Other than this particular incident, the Leigh D4 has been a money maker and
has paid for itself many times over.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/06/05

"Swingman" wrote in message

Did my usual painstaking set up, and numerous test cuts, then proceeded to
cut the half blind drawer ends on 30 drawers only to find out that I now
have to tweak the jig's fingers to get some of the drawer side tails to
fit.

Any chance there was a change in humidity over the time when you measured
and when you cut? Maybe it rained while you worked or a blast of warm air
moved into your area. Not often, but I've noticed wood change in humidity,
enough that I could measure over the period of an hour.

IIRC the type of wood will make a difference as to the result of the actual
cut. If you test on a different wood the results may come out differently.


"Swingman" wrote in message
...

"Joe" wrote in message
I just got my D4 from Lee Valley. I put it together and followed the
instructions and got a pretty good joint on my first try.
I'm just starting out in WW and if I can learn to use it anybody can. I'm
slowly getting equipment for my shop. Now, if I can only afford to buy
the
wood to make something.

Words to the wise: I normally love mine, but I'm kinda ****ed at it right
now.

Did my usual painstaking set up, and numerous test cuts, then proceeded to
cut the half blind drawer ends on 30 drawers only to find out that I now
have to tweak the jig's fingers to get some of the drawer side tails to
fit.
I've probably made a couple of hundred drawers with the damn thing and
that
is the very first time that's ever happened.

Can't find anything that's moved on the jig, material was all batch cut
and
the same dimension, and the router bit is still the same depth, so it's a
mystery to me what happened. Not impossible to recover from, but still a
PITA, and a loss in time, which is money to me.

Moral: even with a fine jig like the Leigh, which should be capable of a
'production type' run for each operation, watch out for Murphy. It is
better
to switch operations occasionally and do a few of each as you go, making
sure the fit remains like the original setup.

Other than this particular incident, the Leigh D4 has been a money maker
and
has paid for itself many times over.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/06/05

"Leon" wrote in message
IIRC the type of wood will make a difference as to the result of the
actual
cut. If you test on a different wood the results may come out
differently.

All maple from the same pile, same length of time in the shop, cut on the
same day (I always cut test pieces of the required width when I'm batch
cutting the sides and ends).

And before someone jumps in with non-concentricity of the router bit, I
always keep the router handles (an old 690) parallel to the long axis of the
jig and the Porter Cable label facing me ... an old ingrained habit ... so
that is not the cause either.

I thought maybe the bit had slipped, but that was easy to check with my test
cut board and was not the case.

All the jig fingers were tight, all the pieces put in the jig snuggly
against the stops, nothing changed but the orientation of the fingers, and
that was dead on 1/2" in both cases, as I always check it from each side of
the Leigh to rule out the parallax that you can get when you set it from the
front.

I am, as you know, a pretty careful fellow and don't fall into too many
traps, but like I said, this one's a mystery to me.

BTW, I recently made the most accurate crosscut sled I've ever made ... that
SOB is DEAD on SQUARE out to 13"! .. and I used it to trim the drawer sides.
Maybe it is too damn precise?? g

.... and FWIW, those end panels you cut for me look great! Thanks again,
Leon.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/06/05

"Swingman" wrote in message
...
I am, as you know, a pretty careful fellow and don't fall into too many
traps, but like I said, this one's a mystery to me.

The ONLY thing that I can think of Maybe with so many, I have found that
some times I do not clean the cut out to the width of the fingers.
Carlessness on my part.


BTW, I recently made the most accurate crosscut sled I've ever made ...
that
SOB is DEAD on SQUARE out to 13"! .. and I used it to trim the drawer
sides.
Maybe it is too damn precise?? g

Isn't it great having a a tool that insures that kind of acuracy? I confess
that I have been using a left and right Dubby jig for years and they are
dead on also, at any angle.

... and FWIW, those end panels you cut for me look great! Thanks again,
Leon.

LOL... I hope to be wraping up my kitchen job next Tuesday. I have been
sweating bullets all the way. Walls are not plumb and it is a U shaped
kitchen with cabinets that have to fit between a rock and a hard spot on
both ends. The top set went in great I hope the bottom set goes smoothly
next week. How is th house coming along?


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/06/05

"Leon" wrote in message

LOL... I hope to be wraping up my kitchen job next Tuesday. I have been
sweating bullets all the way. Walls are not plumb and it is a U shaped
kitchen with cabinets that have to fit between a rock and a hard spot on
both ends. The top set went in great I hope the bottom set goes smoothly
next week

Amazing how much time gets eaten up on kitchen cabinets. I've got the
drawers to finish and I'll be done with the latest. They are all installed,
finish applied, and covered up while the painters spray their enamel.

How is the house coming along?

We'll have an open house for this one on the 22nd ... it won't be finished
then, but they never are. Have another start on the horizon, plus a
commercial job if my partners win a bid proposal. That'$ a good thing, a$ my
younge$t daughter will be back from college for the $ummer next week.

Meantime, getting ready for the heat to hit ... the weather has been too
good, which usually means trouble.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/06/05

I had my bottom plate on my routher loosen up on me. I thought I was
going nuts. One cut the dovetail would be tight, the next it would be
loose. Turns out it was moving about 1/32 or so...
Swingman wrote:
"Joe" wrote in message
I just got my D4 from Lee Valley. I put it together and followed
the
instructions and got a pretty good joint on my first try.
I'm just starting out in WW and if I can learn to use it anybody
can. I'm
slowly getting equipment for my shop. Now, if I can only afford to
buy
the
wood to make something.

Words to the wise: I normally love mine, but I'm kinda ****ed at it
right
now.

Did my usual painstaking set up, and numerous test cuts, then
proceeded to
cut the half blind drawer ends on 30 drawers only to find out that I
now
have to tweak the jig's fingers to get some of the drawer side tails
to fit.
I've probably made a couple of hundred drawers with the damn thing
and that
is the very first time that's ever happened.

Can't find anything that's moved on the jig, material was all batch
cut and
the same dimension, and the router bit is still the same depth, so
it's a
mystery to me what happened. Not impossible to recover from, but
still a
PITA, and a loss in time, which is money to me.

Moral: even with a fine jig like the Leigh, which should be capable
of a
'production type' run for each operation, watch out for Murphy. It is
better
to switch operations occasionally and do a few of each as you go,
making
sure the fit remains like the original setup.

Other than this particular incident, the Leigh D4 has been a money
maker and
has paid for itself many times over.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/06/05

I found that sometimes, the finger bar doesn't always lay flat to the edge
of the wood you plan to cut. Even a 1/32 can make the fit tight. I find
that this can happen when I use a scrap piece of wood that isn't perfectly
flat as a backer. Now, I have a 3/4" 16 ply BB plywood that I use and
replace when needed.

"Swingman" wrote in message
...

"Joe" wrote in message
I just got my D4 from Lee Valley. I put it together and followed the
instructions and got a pretty good joint on my first try.
I'm just starting out in WW and if I can learn to use it anybody can. I'm
slowly getting equipment for my shop. Now, if I can only afford to buy
the
wood to make something.

Words to the wise: I normally love mine, but I'm kinda ****ed at it right
now.

Did my usual painstaking set up, and numerous test cuts, then proceeded to
cut the half blind drawer ends on 30 drawers only to find out that I now
have to tweak the jig's fingers to get some of the drawer side tails to
fit.
I've probably made a couple of hundred drawers with the damn thing and
that
is the very first time that's ever happened.

Can't find anything that's moved on the jig, material was all batch cut
and
the same dimension, and the router bit is still the same depth, so it's a
mystery to me what happened. Not impossible to recover from, but still a
PITA, and a loss in time, which is money to me.

Moral: even with a fine jig like the Leigh, which should be capable of a
'production type' run for each operation, watch out for Murphy. It is
better
to switch operations occasionally and do a few of each as you go, making
sure the fit remains like the original setup.

Other than this particular incident, the Leigh D4 has been a money maker
and
has paid for itself many times over.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/06/05

....as long as we're on the topic, anybody care to speak to 8mm shank vs 1/4?
Former seems to be only available if ordered through Leigh at about $50
premium to the dealer prices that seem to only offer the 1/4" option.
Leigh's site says 8mm is the way to go with 1/2" to 8mm adaptor.


"news.east.cox.net" wrote in message
news:QtSge.12219$sy6.9515@lakeread04...
I found that sometimes, the finger bar doesn't always lay flat to the edge
of the wood you plan to cut. Even a 1/32 can make the fit tight. I find
that this can happen when I use a scrap piece of wood that isn't perfectly
flat as a backer. Now, I have a 3/4" 16 ply BB plywood that I use and
replace when needed.

"Swingman" wrote in message
...

"Joe" wrote in message
I just got my D4 from Lee Valley. I put it together and followed the
instructions and got a pretty good joint on my first try.
I'm just starting out in WW and if I can learn to use it anybody can.
I'm
slowly getting equipment for my shop. Now, if I can only afford to buy
the
wood to make something.

Words to the wise: I normally love mine, but I'm kinda ****ed at it right
now.

Did my usual painstaking set up, and numerous test cuts, then proceeded
to
cut the half blind drawer ends on 30 drawers only to find out that I now
have to tweak the jig's fingers to get some of the drawer side tails to
fit.
I've probably made a couple of hundred drawers with the damn thing and
that
is the very first time that's ever happened.

Can't find anything that's moved on the jig, material was all batch cut
and
the same dimension, and the router bit is still the same depth, so it's a
mystery to me what happened. Not impossible to recover from, but still a
PITA, and a loss in time, which is money to me.

Moral: even with a fine jig like the Leigh, which should be capable of a
'production type' run for each operation, watch out for Murphy. It is
better
to switch operations occasionally and do a few of each as you go, making
sure the fit remains like the original setup.

Other than this particular incident, the Leigh D4 has been a money maker
and
has paid for itself many times over.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/06/05

"news.east.cox.net" wrote in message
I found that sometimes, the finger bar doesn't always lay flat to the edge
of the wood you plan to cut. Even a 1/32 can make the fit tight. I find
that this can happen when I use a scrap piece of wood that isn't perfectly
flat as a backer. Now, I have a 3/4" 16 ply BB plywood that I use and
replace when needed.

The fit of parts cut later is definitely tighter than the test cuts were ...
I'll check that out. Thanks for the heads-up.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/06/05

On Thu, 12 May 2005 10:37:39 -0500, "Swingman" wrote:


"Joe" wrote in message
I just got my D4 from Lee Valley. I put it together and followed the
instructions and got a pretty good joint on my first try.
I'm just starting out in WW and if I can learn to use it anybody can. I'm
slowly getting equipment for my shop. Now, if I can only afford to buy
the
wood to make something.

Words to the wise: I normally love mine, but I'm kinda ****ed at it right
now.

Did my usual painstaking set up, and numerous test cuts, then proceeded to
cut the half blind drawer ends on 30 drawers only to find out that I now
have to tweak the jig's fingers to get some of the drawer side tails to fit.
I've probably made a couple of hundred drawers with the damn thing and that
is the very first time that's ever happened.


Probably not the case, but have you checked that your router bit is
centered in its bushing? That is what bit me when I had problems getting
reliable joints. Next time, I'm going to make my own router base so that
the hole will be centered for the bushing adapter.





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If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

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